Legs - Angela Lam Turpin

Title: Legs
Author: Angela Lam Turpin
Genre: Chick-lit
Rating: 7/10
# pages: 344
Date read: January, 2009

Review: Katrina Kay (KK) discovered that there is a truth to the old saying of keeping business and pleasure separate. So far it's been wonderful being business partners with her boyfriend Tom, but when he decides to use a photo of her naked legs on a billboard ad, she realises it's time to break up the partnership. Unfortunately Tom decides that this means breaking off the relationship as well, and soon KK finds herself trying to start over in a new town, far away from her family and friends.

They're not too keen on being left behind though, and are determined to bring KK and Tom back together, so KK finds herself continuously being torn between old friends and new obligations. It's time to stop letting the opinion of others control her life, and start living according to her dreams and desires.

Legs is a very entertaining debut novel from Angela Lam Turpin. Authors are encouraged to "write what you know", and Angela Turpin has done just that by centring her book on the lives of two real estate agents. This is a career not often ventured into in books, making for interesting reading about a profession I knew hardly anything about. The main characters are intriguing, though I often found myself wanting to shake first one and then the other for not talking things through and not listening properly.

My only issue with the book was KK's family members, who were somewhat over-the-top, and therefore came out looking more like caricatures than real people. I hope families like that are few and far between.

That aside I greatly enjoyed the book and can highly recommend it for a day at the beach or a rainy afternoon.

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Run for Your Life - James Patterson & Michael Ledwidge

Title: Run for Your Life
Author: James Patterson & Michael Ledwidge
Genre: Suspense
Rating: 8/10
# pages: Audiobook
Date read: January, 2009

Review: Mike Bennett, NYPD homicide detective, is facing the worst nightmare of his life. His children are all sick, and he can't even stay home to take care of them, because a maniac calling himself "The Teacher" is running around Manhattan killing the rich, the snobbish and the rude. It would appear that nobody in the upper circles can count themselves safe, but what Mike really wants to know is how the victims are chosen! Is it just a random sampling? Or are they all connected somehow? When the killer finally shows up at his own house to take him hostage, he knows he has to do something drastic.

James Patterson has always been known for his fast-paced, quick-action books, and this adventure, co-authored with Michael Ledwidge, is no exception. I was hooked from the very beginning, so eager to know what happened next, that I even found myself biking detours in order to get in "just one more chapter" before arriving at work.

"Run for Your Life" is read by Dallas Roberts and Bobby Cannavale, with one reading the chapters focused on Mike Bennet and the other reading the chapters focused on the Teacher. At first I was unsure of how this would work, and worried that the two voices would be too similar for me to differentiate between them. That turned out not to be a problem at all, as not only were their voices significantly different, but they also managed to adapt their tone of voice to the characters portrayed. Nobody would be in doubt as to the state of the Teacher's mental health after hearing Bobby Cannavale's portrayal of his voice. And Dallas Roberts' voice was likewise sufficiently strong as Mike Bennett.

"Run for Your Life" is James' and Michael's second book about Mike Bennett, but can easily be read with no knowledge of the first as the plot is self-contained and any continuation must be in reoccurring characters only.

At a mere 7 hours playing time it is an almost too quick, but very enjoyable listen.

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Knife - R.J. Anderson

Title: Knife
Author: R.J. Anderson
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 9/10
# pages: 317
Date read: January, 2009

Summary: As the Faery Queen's appointed Hunter, Knife alone has the courage and skill to fight the crows and other predators who threaten the Oakenfolk's survival. Yet neither she nor the Queen can do anything to stop a mysterious magical disease from claiming the faeries of the Oak one by one.

Knife determines to learn the truth about the Oakenfolk's relationship to humanity, no matter what the Queen might do to prevent her - a quest which threatens the growing friendship between herself and the human, Paul; puts both their lives in jeopardy, and challenges everything Knife has ever believed about humans, faeries, and her own heart's desire. And when at last Knife discovers the secret the Faery Queen has been hiding, she is forced to make an agonizing choice between love and freedom that will change her life, and the lives of her people, forever.

Review: Well, I originally bought this book because I know the author. Turned out that was a brilliant investment, because I can honestly say it's a book I would love to own no matter who had written it.

"Knife" is an alternate look on fairies from what we've seen in many recent books ("Tithe" and "Wondrous Strange" spring to mind), but - IMHO - a more 'correct' one (which makes no sense at all, I know, but bear with me). I loved being introduced to the life and society of the fairy court, and seeing the hesitant contact with humans grow into a strong friendship.

I loved it :-)

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